A/N: Takes place some undetermined amount of time since the last chapter. Assume like a month or so later

Mocha Latte

-Kitty

Chapter 17: Late Night Drinks

The beast roared, loud and wrathful, its voice shaking the ground and battering his chest like a physical force. Dust and ruined earth swirled around him, pelting him with stones and dirt. The din and the chaos was enough to drive him mad. His grip was slipping and he felt his teeth creak against each other as he poured all his effort into holding on to the small, slippery wrist that struggled weakly against his grasp. Distantly he heard her voice cry that the barrier would not hold for much longer, but it was all he could do to merely keep his train of thought as his ears practically bled from the force of the dragon's rage filled bellow.

Playing midwife to a raging pregnant dragon, with his arm shoulder deep where the sun don't shine, was not what he had in mind when Kagome first suggested a weekend mountain getaway.

Several hours later...

He couldn't remember the last time he'd been in a more sour mood. In front of him, Kagome trotted down the trail with a bounce to her step that he found even more infuriating. He was fuming internally, so much so that he was certain the remaining muck and amniotic fluid soaked into his clothing was steaming as he followed the infuriating wench back to their lodgings. Kagome turned her dark head to glance back at him and had the gall to laugh, her eyes shining as they absorbed the picture of unhappiness he must have been at the moment.

"Good work today," she said, her eyes sparkling as she gave him a cheeky wink. He had only enough energy to bare his fangs at her, unable to even muster a modest snarl. She laughed at him again, her giggles, bright and bubbly, reaching inside him and transforming his grumpy ire. He huffed a sigh and rolled his eyes as her upbeat, joyful attitude forced him to begrudgingly look back on their day with a small bit of satisfaction.

The afternoon had been exhausting. Hours of trudging through dense undergrowth, sticky with sweat in the stifling heat, only to be followed by another several hours of midwifing an angry beast who'd been clearly displeased by their intrusion on her most vulnerable, private moments.

Ahead, Kagome heaved a tired, satisfied sigh as the warmly illuminated silhouette of the old inn came into view, it's yellow lanterns soft and fairy-like. The innkeeper gave them both a startled look as they entered, bringing his attention to their appearance for the first time.

Glancing at Kagome, a trickle of humor finally brushed against his consciousness as he took in her wild hair and torn clothing. A large smear of dirt decorated her face and her shirt and jeans were a collection of grass stains, muddy splatter, and several more questionable looking marks. He didn't need to look at his reflection in the nearby mirror to know he probably looked several times worse, with his more active role in delivering the baby dragon that afternoon.

Kagome seemed to miss the frightened look and smiled brightly at the innkeeper as she skipped past, only pausing to ask for dinner to be sent to their rooms. Then she grabbed his hand and half dragged, half led him down the hall and up the stairs. The door slid open and they both heaved long, relieved sighs.

"You!" Kagome commanded, a finger pointed at his nose, "Hit the shower!"

He blinked several times, his eyes crossing as he scowled down at the offending digit dangerously close to piercing his nostril. His instinctive reaction to rebel was slow, saving him as he realized he indeed wanted the shower first.

"Keh," he managed to say as he stomped his way to the bathroom. The tinkle of her laughter followed him and he rolled his eyes as he slammed the door shut.

The instant blanket of steamy, rushing water blotted out any sound his sensitive ears might have heard from outside the bathroom, creating an insulated haven around him. The gush of moist warmth slowly began to penetrate his skin, finding his tired muscles and gently releasing a small portion of the built up stress from earlier in the day. He peeled off his stained and mud caked clothing with disgust, his nose wrinkling as he tossed the smelly fabric into a dejected pile in the corner. With each discarded article, a muscle softened, a joint popped, a sinew relaxed.

He paused there, lungs gently inundated by the humid air and his mind drifting. Tilting his head side to side, feeling the tightness slowly lessen, he heaved a soft sigh and stepped under the streaming spout. The water was warm and trickled down over the contours of his skin, cleansing both his mind and his body as it washed over him. Breathing in the heady steam through his nose, he brought up the tension in his shoulders before dropping his head back, letting the heat and the pattering water sweep away the grime and the strain of the last several hours down the drain.

Eyes unfocused, he gradually came aware of a strange sense of calm, satisfied peace. The success of their day's work, the knowledge that she was nearby, and the security in their mutual protection of each other. It was a vague, elusive feeling, one that gently brushed against his consciousness but fluttered into the ether whenever his hazy mind tried to gaze directly at it.

The contented exhaustion slowly overtaking his thoughts pulled his attention away from analyzing this newfound peace, and instead, he finished in the shower, wrapping a modesty towel around his waist and emerging from the bathroom in a billow of white, wafting steam. Kagome's dark head glanced up from the kotatsu in the middle of their room.

"Oh good!" She chirped, turning to present him with a tray of sake, daintily contained in white porcelain, "take this out to the hot spring. I'll join you in a few minutes."

Inuyasha glanced out in the direction she'd nodded, at the steam rising from the private onsen in their suite. Grunting, he did as asked, the hit of cold air as he stepped outside shocking to his lungs and turning his skin to plucked poultry.

Setting the tray at the edge of the steamy pool, he dipped a tentative toe and recoiled quickly with a yelp. Though not quite enough to scald, the water was damn hot! Sighing he skirted around the edges of the pool and gingerly eased himself down to sit with his legs in the water. With the dramatic temperature change between the cool air and the hot water, the nerves under his skin tingled and caused his toes to curl as he adjusted.

A giggle from behind alerted him to her presence. He turned to glance up at her, his eyes promptly popping wide open.

"You look like that's the most painful thing you've done all day!" Her hair was tied up high on the back of head, her bangs wet and clinging to her forehead from her own shower. Goosebumps peppered her arms and down her bare legs and the cold made her involuntarily tighten the muscles in her abdomen, and the warm yellow lighting emphasized the lines and shadows her two-piece displayed so boldly.

If she noted his frozen reaction, she behaved as she always did, apparently oblivious and concerned only with relishing the sensory bliss of the hot mineralized water. In both hands, she held several bottles of extra alcohol. She winked at him when she noticed his gaze dropping to the contents of her hands.

"After today," she said, setting down the bottles, "We earned a night to go wild."

Splashing happily as she sank into the water, she eagerly sloshed to the tray, and poured out two glasses of the clear, sweet smelling liquid. He felt strangely shy as he accepted the glass she offered, the small cup forcing their fingers to graze each other. The girl smiled wide at him, lifting her own glass in a toast.

"Here's to a successful mission!" She announced, "After we file the case report, we can officially get you processed and on payroll."

Inuyasha choked a little on his sip, sputtering as he struggled to ask her what on earth she was talking about.

Her eyes twinkled as she finished downing her cup and returned her gaze to his. "I've asked Miroku to consider taking you on as an agent. It would put you under our organization's protection and you'd get a paycheck."

She tipped her head and shrugged. "It's up to you though," she said, "whether or not you want to pursue it."

He sat there dumbfounded, his tired brain struggling to process this information while Kagome carelessly threw back her head to down her cup. Licking her lips, she reached over to pour herself another while Inuyasha took a long, drawn out breath.

"Keh," he grumbled, resolving to think about the implications of this surprise job opportunity later. Lifting the sake to his lips, he followed Kagome's example and downed his own cup, savoring the unique sweetness of the cold liquid. The cold sweetness settled in his stomach and became a bracing warmth that rose up again to find his cheeks and the tips of his furry ears. It spread further, racing through his veins to find his fingers and toes, finishing what the shower had started and he heaved a long sigh.

"Good isn't it?" Kagome asked. He glanced at her, noting the amusement in her eyes and snorted.

"Guess so," he said with a shrug.

Despite their exhaustion, they stayed up late into the night, finishing every bottle Kagome brought out of her seemingly never ending stash. It takes a lot for him to fully experience the effects of alcohol but he accomplished it that night. Between the sake and the steamy hot spring and Kagome's gentle chatter, he was lulled into a strange new state, like his mind was cozily nestled inside the warm, thick blankets he fell asleep in when they finally returned to their room and turned out the lights.

Body thoroughly, satisfyingly battered and sore from a hard day of work, stomach full of dinner and sake, and mind at peace. Even the wary side of him couldn't be bothered to feel concern over how soft and unguarded he was becoming and could only enjoy the comfortable security wrapped around him. Sleep claimed him quickly and his dreams were warm, peaceful, and bright.

A/N: ah, the simple relief of hot water and cold alcohol. We just had our first baby so it's the simple things right now like a hot shower and a quick beer (timed for 2 hrs before the next breastfeed) that get me through to day :P

Sorry it's been so long since the last update! Between work, life, and pandemic craziness, haven't really had a lot of time to write anything. Also trying to decide the next project with an actual plot and coming up dry so far :P

Updates to this will probably continue to be sparse and far between since we're adjusting to baby schedule (which apparently means, no schedule). Will try to punch out a chapter whenever i find the time.

Hope you all are staying safe and had a great holiday/New Years!